Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Biscoff Buttercream

Happy Halloween! I wanted to make something for work to
help celebrate. We were also honoring the part-time librarians so I brought
these to share. I figured that pumpkin would be a good fit for Halloween and I was
so interested in trying the Biscoff buttercream. So far I have loved everything
I have made with Biscoff, and frosting is never bad, right?

The little Halloween toppers I purchased from the King
Arthur Flour catalog last year. I never got around to using them and I was
determined to use them this Halloween! The set had four different toppers: an
owl, a witch’s hat, a moon, and a ghost. Owls are super popular these days and I
thought these were so cute. I only had 20 toppers so I topped the rest with
fall leaf sprinkles.

I made mini cupcakes and it made over 5 dozen! My kitchen
counter was overflowing with cupcakes. I was worried that I wouldn’t have
enough frosting for all of the cupcakes, but I had more than enough. I guess
when you pipe on the frosting a little goes a long way. The cupcakes by
themselves are really tasty, with the perfect hint of cinnamon. The frosting is
so great, although it is pretty sweet. You really need the pumpkin cupcake base
or it would be way too sweet!

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil,
pumpkin and eggs. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking
powder, salt and cinnamon; add to pumpkin mixture and stir until well mixed.

Fill muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake for 18-22 minutes
for regular sized cupcakes, or 13-14 minutes for mini cupcakes, until a
toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan
and then cool completely on a wire rack.

Make the frosting: place the butter and Biscoff spread
into a large mixer bowl. Beat on medium until well blended. Add half the
powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons milk, and the vanilla to the butter mixture. Mix
until blended. Add the remaining sugar and 1 tablespoon milk. Mix until blended,
adding additional milk if required to achieve desired consistency. Pipe
frosting onto the cooled cupcakes. Decorate as desired.